In a personal computer environment, it is easy for users to input numbers and characters by using a keyboard and a mouse. However, in a TV environment, it is difficult to use a general keyboard or a remote controller to input selective items or input numbers and characters. Nowadays, some intelligent TVs and multimedia players (e.g. Google TVs and Apple iTVs) are introduced into the market. The man-machine interfaces of these intelligent TVs and multimedia players are not user-friendly and usually suffered from severe criticism.
Take the conventional television and the remote controller for example. The conventional remote controller is usually provided with a numerical keypad for inputting numbers. The conventional remote controller is also provided with a navigation/direction keypad (including up/down/left/right keys) for allowing the user to browse and select the selective items. In a case that the remote controller is used for selection or input, the remote controller is held by the user's hand while pressing the number key or the navigation/direction key to switch the selective item. In this control mode, the desired setting or input is usually completed by pressing the keys more than 10 times. In other words, the use of the conventional remote controller is time-consuming and inconvenient.
On the other hand, the conventional TV remote controller is not provided with a standard QWERTY keyboard. For executing the internet access function of the intelligent TV or the multimedia player, a single word is inputted by operating the navigation/direction keypad to jump between the keys and select characters. In other words, it takes a long time to input a short paragraph. The complicated input method becomes hindrance from operating the TV remote controller, particularly for the elderly users or children.
Another commercially-available remote controller has a built-in 3-D g-sensor for detecting the motion of the remote controller in a three-dimensional space. The operating principles and operating methods of this remote controller are similar to an air mouse. For browsing a web page in the intelligent TV or the multimedia player, the user may move the remote controller to control the cursor shown on a display screen to input characters or numbers or select any icon or link shown on the display screen. Since the use of this remote controller should precisely locate the cursor to the designated character, number or icon shown on the display screen, the complicated input method becomes hindrance for the non-technical-savvy (NTS) who is not familiar with or not good at the use of the TV remote controller.
Therefore, there is a need of providing an intelligent input system and an intelligent input method for allowing the user to easily input a target selective item or the character without the need of sequentially switching many selective items. Especially, the intelligent input system and the intelligent input method can be easily operated by the non-technical-savvy (NTS), the elderly user or the uneducated user in order to control the novel intelligent TV and the digital multimedia player or browse web pages.